William Bulger

William Michael "Billy" Bulger (2 February 1934-) was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (D) from 1961 to 1971 and of the State Senate from 1971 to 1996, serving as President of the Senate form 1978 to 1996; he also served as President of the University of Massachusetts from 1996 to 2003. He was forced to resign from the latter post after he refused to testify in a congressional hearing about communications he had with his fugitive brother, Whitey Bulger, a Boston crime boss.

Biography
William Michael Bulger was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1934, the third of six children in an Irish family; he was the younger brother of Boston crime boss Whitey Bulger. He grew up in the Old Harbor Village neighborhood of Boston, and he served in the US Army from 1953 to 1955, attending Boston College before and after his service. In 1960, he was elected to the State House of Representatives as a Democratic Party politician, and he served in the House until 1971, when he entered the Senate. From 1978 to 1996, he was President of the State Senate, and his time as State Senate president was the longest tenure in state history. Bulger joined fellow Irish-American neighborhood leaders in opposition to court-ordered desegregated busing, and he remained very popular in his district despite media attacks. He supported laws against child abuse, in favor of environmental protection, and supported public school choice, charter schools, public libraries, childhood nutrition services, fuel assistance programs, and welfare reform. In 1995, he was appointed President of the University of Massachusetts, and he served until 2003, when he resigned after refusing to cooperate with authorities in their search for his fugitive brother, Whitey Bulger.